Process electronic invoices efficiently with FactWork

Sending invoices in electronic form (e-invoices) is not yet mandatory for all companies. However, since January 1, 2025, all companies in Germany must be able to accept and process electronic invoices. Sending invoices on paper or in a digital format other than ZUGFerD and XRechnung – e.g., as a PDF – will therefore still be possible in 2025 and 2026. In 2027, this exemption will only apply to companies with a previous year's turnover of less than 800,000.00 euros, and from 2028 onwards, sending invoices in electronic form will be mandatory for all companies. The only exceptions are invoices under 250.00 euros.

The new version 12.2 of FactWork enables the automatic transfer and processing of e-invoices. This significantly speeds up the invoice verification process—a decisive advantage, as most suppliers will switch to ZUGFeRD and XRechnung by the end of 2026.

You can receive incoming invoices in two different formats:

• ZUGFeRD:
  The ZUGFeRD format is a hybrid format, as it consists of a PDF part – i.e., a document file – and embedded electronic data (XML format). The PDF part is directly readable – however, since January 1, 2025, if there are discrepancies between the content of the document file and the content of the XML data, the content of the XML data takes precedence. The PDF part can be used as normal for manual processing, but there remains the uncertainty of a discrepancy with the XML data.
   
• XRechnung:
  XRechnung is a standardized e-invoice format in which the invoice is available as an XML document and is therefore not directly readable. The XML data must be read and processed by a program in order to make it visible and usable.

F.EE offers two solutions for the automatic processing of e-invoices:

• Free viewer:
  The e-invoice can be manually stored as an attachment to the invoice process in FactWork, and the contents of the XML data can be viewed in the viewer. The data is transferred and processed manually.
   
• Automated processing:
  The EDIFACT module from FactWork has been expanded for the automated processing of e-invoices. Licensing additional modules is required to use this more convenient solution.